Computer users are accustomed to using a mouse and keyboard as a way of interacting with a personal computer. While personal computers provide a number of advantages over printed documents, users often continue to perform certain functions using printed paper. Some of these functions include reading handwritten documents. In the case of annotations, the printed document assumes a greater significance because of the annotations placed on it by the user. One of the difficulties, however, with having a handwritten document is a later need to have the content entered back into the electronic form of the document. This requires the original user or another user to wade through the handwritten content and enter them into a personal computer. In some cases, a user will scan in the handwritten content and the original text, thereby creating a new document. These multiple steps make the interaction between the printed document and the electronic version of the document difficult to handle on a repeated basis. Further, scanned-in images are frequently non-modifiable. There may be no way to separate the handwritten content from the original text. This makes using the handwritten content difficult. Accordingly, an improved way of handling handwritten content is needed.
With the increasing ubiquity of computers and electronic databases, there is a greater demand for efficient storage, handling, and retrieval of documents in digital form. Documents may be handwritten or machine-generated documents that may be annotated by a user. Correspondingly, tables and other types of handwritten objects are often incorporated within the document. For example, tables are commonly used in a document for describing statistical and relational information. Thus, extraction of handwritten tables plays an important role in document processing. Tables have many applications, including populating databases, which can later be manipulated or queried, or being repurposed into charts.
Detecting and processing handwritten objects is becoming more important with the increasing usage and transfer of electronic documents on computer systems. Enhanced support would help in facilitating office automation.